That is right where I would want it to be, especially with two right-handers. Mine is in the same spot.

I'm right-handed, and I had my DH switch our faucet to the left side. I'm usually holding something in my right hand, and turning the faucet on with my left hand makes more sense. Try it :)

Here's the easiest solution--get a Tapmaster so you hardly ever have to handle the faucet handle. Really nice when you have gunk--like raw chicken juice--on your hands.

The Tapmaster is one of the highest regarded "frills" on this forum.

Can the switch be moved over to where the reverse osmosis water faucet is? I would then leave your regular faucet where it is but swap out your soap one with your drinking faucet and then move your soap one over to where your air switch is. Sounds like musical chairs.

However in looking at your pictures. This may not work. I was hoping to avoid you having to drill another hole and filling the air switch one. Actually, I am putting mine behind and to the side of the sink cab, out of the way, so I avoid just that problem. Contractor wanted to use existing holes in the under mount sink. Both my KD and I vetoed it. I want the switch out of the way of drippy hands.

Since your granite is pretty uniform in color and movement (mine isn't so it probably wouldn't work) I would see if drilling another hole where you want the switch would work, move the switch and then see if you can plug the existing hole with the granite taken from the newly drilled hole. Does this make any sense at all?

If it won't work, again, play with what you have and see if you can move your faucets and the existing switch around so you won't have this problem. The main faucet doesn't always have to be in the center of the sink....Although for some folks that might drive them crazy if it wasn't. You have a pull out faucet so it can be pulled out to clean the opposite side of the sink if you moved it over to where your reverse osmosis faucet is (at an angle so the faucet faced the hole for the drain). Gosh is any of this making any sense? It is a more "modern" look.

Thank you all so much for the suggestions. I can't believe I missed Tapmaster after all the time I've spent on this forum! That may be a good solution.

Am first going to try switching the faucet lever from right to left and see how that feels.

I'm getting cold feet about drilling another hole...

Again, thank you. I really appreciate the advice. I don't know what I'd do without this forum!

T.

By the way, they won't be able to use the plug from a new hole to fill the old hole--just won't work. Plug is smaller than the hole it comes from--the rest is stone dust from the drill. So you're goign to have an extra hole unless the "musical faucets" plan works.

I would change the faucet lever. Anything before letting them cut the granite and risk cracking or chipping. How aggravating would that be!

It looks like your a/s is exactly where mine is. I love it and would not have it anywhere else. It also never gets soaked with water. I am also righthanded.

Can someone tell me what an air switch is for?? Never heard
of it. Thanks

I also don't understand what you are complaining about. IMO the switch is right where it should be - you turn on the water and then the GD with the same hand.

I wonder if you are just transposing your old habits (reach to the wall switch for the GD with one hand while turning on the water with the other hand) to the new environment.

What you have is almost what I have, and I explicitly asked for it to be that way.

Hi,
Have you considered rotating the faucet so the handle is at the front rather than the side. I have my Vinattas mounted that way, and my air switches are mounted in the same place as your'n.
You can see what I mean about turning the faucet base. It's very easy with Kohlers; don't know how bad with your brand. The air switches are COMPLETELY waterproof, btw.

So did I but counter has not been installed yet and now you have me worried. If the air switch is made to be used on a counter near a sink, is it really a problem if it gets a little wet?

Sue

I think my best chance is flipping the faucet -- though I'm going to have another look at it when I get home because it might just make sense to put the lever in front. (Faucet is a Grohe Bridgeford.) That could be an ideal solution!

As for the people who have it in exactly the same place but it doesn't get wet, I'm baffled. Imagine that you're washing a dish and you reach up with your wet hand to turn off the water or change the tempature. The water from your hand drips directly down onto the counter top -- and in my case, there's an air switch there. No way to avoid puddling. What am I missing?

I won't say that mine doesn't get wet, but I've never noticed it gettng *very* wet. If your hand is going to make the switch wet it is also going to make the faucet handle wet, and that will drip down on the counter too. Its only water.

And I will reiterate that the switch is waterproof. That is the reason they are *air* switches. There is no electricity in the switch. The switch is connected to the electric outlet by a tube filled with air.

I have an air switch in my whirlpool bath - guess what - it gets wet! It's ok for an air switch to get wet. Sorry, but you're really obsessing over a non-problem.

WOW. Obsessing over a non-problem on the kitchen forum. Imagine that.

Thanks for the snotty response, weissman. It's not the kind of reply I'm used to getting here.

I'm sorry - I'll give you a typical GW response instead:

Oh how awful. You should get your fabricator to rip out the entire countertop and give you a new one at his expense!

Sorry, I guess I'm in a snarky mood today :-)

Move the lever to the left.
I tried the lever in 3 different positions, started out right, moved to front and ended up on the left.
I'm right handed and was always holding whatever I wanted washed or filled with my right hand.
I thought I was clever to move the handle to the middle, but it turns out I'm pretty much a moron, as I kept getting my arm wet when I turned the water on.
It was perfect on the left.

But now we've moved and it's time to start all over again!

I like having my lever on the left (I'm right handed). So do try that or the middle as the easiest option. The Tapmaster isn't a bad option either, but a little more effort and expense. :)

And I do understand why you don't want the thing wet all the time even though it's water proof. And in MY kitchen, it WOULD get wet all the time, just like yours.

Carolyn - You're not the only one. I've never heard of them either.

Laurie

I also think it seems fine, but I would try changing faucets before moving the air switch. What happens if you decide you liked it on the right after you move it!!!

I understand that the Grohe k4
http://www.groheamerica.com/t/25_3976.html

Can move the faucet handle all around the faucet, so that would give you the most flexibility.

Oh, and I just figured out what an air switch was yesterday when was studying up on garbage disposals. It is a push down button to operate a disposal (or anything else I imagine), as opposed to a switch like a light switch to do the same thing.

I'm another who doesn't understand what the problem is. We put our airswitches in just about the same location and find it very convenient. I sometimes turn the water on just before running the GD and usually turn the water off right after turning the GD off so it is convenient to have them close to each other.

Occasionally some water drips on the air switch but that's okay - it either air drys or is dried off when I wipe the counter. My hand usually isn't so wet as to leave a whole lot of water. If it was, I would have to wipe the counter anyway. By the way, even if the airswitch isn't by the faucet, it will sometimes get wet because of water splashing when spraying something in the sink.

What problem do you think the water is going to cause by being on the air switch that it won't cause by being on the counter? If your water is hard and leaves water stains it will do that to the counter too. In that case, it might be best to turn the handle to the front to keep the drips in the sink. Or you might try it this way for a bit to see if you like it after all. You can always change the way the faucet handle faces later.

Since many people like their switch in that position, I don't think you can fault your installers. If you had a strong preference for layout, you should have been there or left detailed instructions. Delays put our granite install when I was going to be away on a business trip and even though we had discussed things and mocked-up the accessory layouts, my DH wouldn't let them drill the holes with me away. They came back so we could both be there and we could make in case last minute tweaks to the layout were needed.

You hit the nail on the head. I've got hard water and trying to keep this new installation nice for as long as possible. So, yes, I'm wiping the counter at the sink a lot. Of course, I would be doing this whether or not there was a switch there. But this switch is smack dab in the puddle zone swipe and I'm starting to see the hard water spots forming beneath it's rim. From a practical and design perspective, it seems all wrong. (I just looked at the Rohl catelog online and they show the sink with the air switch on the opposite side of the faucet lever.)

For the record, I don't blame my installers, I blame myself for not thinking it through and just greenlighting what they told me was right.

I appreciate that many of you are happy with this placement, so chalk it up as a personal preference. It's just not working out for me. And there may be others out there who get my annoyance, so hopefully my obsessiveness will be of some help to someone who hasn't committed yet.

And also for the record weissman, the typical response on this forum isn't quite so jaded. More like, "have a glass of wine and forget about it!" That's advice I could actually use.